Lock mechanism for insulated filing cabinets



April 3, 1951 c. w. WlKMAN LOCK MECHANISM FOR INSULATED FILING CABINETS Filed June l5, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

April 3, 1951 c. w. WIKMAN LOCK MECHANISM FOR INSULATED FILING CABINETS Filed June 15, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 QQ, fi mw. A

w E w INVENTOR.

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IN VEN TOR.

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I /(IIIIIII JQQQ EETL l C. W. WIKMAN LOCK MECHANISM FOR INSULATED FILING CABINETS April 3, 1951 Filed June 15,

Mxk/owmzq I I @WM 0416694.

Patented Apr. 3, 1951 K MEC ANIS F R INSULATED FILING CABINETS CarlW. Wikman, Muskegon, Mich, assignor to Shaw-Walker Company, Muskegon, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan.

App cati n June 1.5 1946, finia No, 7 905 4 Claims. 1

invention relates to a lock mechanism for tire resisting filing cabinets and safes, and has fer its principal object to provide an improved mechanism of the character described consisting of a contrqlling connection between the interior lat hing mechanism and a lock device accessible ijrqm the enterior of the cabinet casing, which is eapable 9f being installed without substantial weakening olthe insulated walls of the casing, and ailords a minimum conduction of heat from the exterior to interior through the metallic control member which must pass through the insciatica 0n present types gt insulated filing cabinets and safes, the locking mechanism itself usually passes through the entire insulated wall thereby allowing heat to be readily conducted into the interior otthe casing and so shortening the length of time the cabinet will protect its contents during a fire, Heat also passes through the insulated walls of the cabinet more readily at any points which have been reduced in thickness in order to accommodate the, locking mechanism.

in carrying out my invention I provide a flexible control wire and tubular housing which is molded the insulation so as to pass through the latter, thus presenting a highl restricted path fer conduction of heat to the interior'of the c b n e. ljurther feature of my invention is the pro- 2 line 3-4} Qf' Figure 2, with part of the insulation broken away to shew an anchoring support.

Figure 4 is a detail section taken on line 4- of Figure 2.

Figure 5 a q zcntal ectio h win modified form of lock mechanism, in which the leek; b t is loca ed. in. the st le f the net... and he s era drawer atches are oht ql ed thr u h a ert c l to s o sh ft inst ad o a reci rocating hat in the fhhlns hwh. the qreso ns fi res:

igu 6 i a d ta l si e v ew of h ock n meehanism of Figure 5 with the insulation removediro the ca i g o. Show the a an men or the working pa ts of the lock, latch control levers, and the metal mountings therefor on the h e r or the asi g,

Figure 7 is a fragmentary front view showing de ail o the t e of he cabinet br en wa o show parts of the drawer support and one side of the drawer in the cabinet.

Figure 3 is a detail section taken on line 8-8 Q Fi ure vision of a locking bar on the interior of the easingfor operating a plurality of latches in the several drawer compartments of the cabinet, which locking bar is so designed as to displace a minimum amount of insulating material in the side wall of the cabinet.

A still further feature of the invention is the provision of the necessary levers for operating the several spring latches for the drawers and the like, which levers and associated parts are so disposed and mounted that they do not materially displace or weaken the insulation in the exterior walls of the cabinet.

The invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of an insulated f ling cabinet having a plurality of drawer com.- partments, illustrating one embodiment of my invention in which the locking bolt is disposed in the top sill 9f the cabinet.

Eigure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view show ing details of the lock and the latch mechanism in the top drawer compartment of the cabinet shown in Figure 1.

igure 3 is a etail se n ta g ral y on R errin n to the embodiment of my in ention illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, a filing cabinet indicated generally at [0 consists of top and bottem walls I I, l2, a rear wall 13, side walls 14 a d in m diate or on par tio s l5, I5 div d n the cabi t i to a plurality of awer compartments. The cabinet walls consist as usual f a h t metal as n t, with an in ul i in ll of e e i t m rial such as ypsum, refera y m lded in th outer casin The h0ri+ zontal partitions l5, L5 are also of molded insulating material. Drawers 58, I8 are of the us a sheet metal construction each havin a head 19 formed of sheet metal, with an insulating filler Zn. The drawer heads each have the usual langed side margins 25 adapted to fit in grooves Zl formed in the stiles 22 of each drawer opening, and also have flanged top and bottom margins 23 adapted to fit in similar grooves 24 formed in the top and bottom sills of each drawer frame opening, to provide a heat resisting seal for the drawer head in each compartment.

The body of each drawer includes, as usual, a bottom wall and side walls. The drawers may also be provided as usual with Suitable rollers (not shown) fOr rolling engagement with metal track rails mounted on the inner side of the insulatin liner.

It will be understood, however, that the drawer structure is merely shown for purposes of illustration of my improved locking mechanism which can be applied as well to other closed members such as hinged doors, or a combina-' tion of drawers and doors, if desired.

Referring now more particularly to the lock mechanism incorporated in the cabinet, a lock 38 is mounted in a housing 3| embedded in the front edge of the top wall ll. Said lock is of the conventional key controlled type having a bolt 33 at one side adapted for locking engagement as usual in a recess in the lock casing 3|. The lock is slidable in its casing and is pushed inwardly to bring the bolt 33 into locking position.

A metal control wire 35 is connected to the inner end of the lock 30 as by a pin 38 passing through an eye 3'! at the end of said wire. Said control wire passes through the front end of the lock housing into a flexible tubular sheath 38 preferably made of coiled wire. Said sheath, with the wire enclosed, is trained inwardly through the adjacent insulating liner I1, and thence downwardly in an arcuate path into the upper drawer compartment alon one side thereof. The inner end of the sheath is fixed by nuts 39, 39 to a bracket 40 forming part of a support plate 4| fixed along the inner face of the compartment.

A rocking lever 42 is pivotally mounted on a stub shaft 43 projecting inwardly from the support plate 4|. The inner end of the control wire 35 is passed through a transverse aperture 45 in a pin 46 on the end of said lever, and is engaged in said pin by a set screw 41, to permit endwise adjustment of the wire when necessary. The pin 46 is preferably mounted for rotation on the rocking lever 42.

Spring means are provided for normally urging the lock 30 in unlocked position, as herein shown said means consisting of a coil spring 44 connected between the bracket 40 and the adjacent end of the rocking lever 42.

The opposite end of the rocking lever 42 is pivotally connected to the top of a vertically disposed lock bar 50 by a pin extending through a vertically disposed slot 48 in the cover plate 54 and projectin into a transversely disposed slot 49 formed in said lock bar, as shown in Figure 3, which bar extends downwardly substantially the full height of the cabinet for controlling individual drawer latches in each compartment. Said lock bar is formed of a relatively thin strip of metal, and is guided in a metallic sheath member 52, which is embedded flatwise alon the adjacent side wall of the cabinet so as to encroach but a limited depth upon the. thickness of the insulating liner. The sheath member 52 is formed of sheet metal, of substantially U-shape in cross section, to form a relatively flat groove for the lock bar, and also -has extended flanges 53 along opposite sides thereof.

A cover plate 54 of sheet metal, extends along the outer face of the sheath member 52 to confine the lock bar closely for vertical movement therein, while restraining said bar from bowing or bending when endwise pressure is exerted thereon.

In the form shown the cover plate 54 overlaps the extended flange 53, 53 of the sheath member 52, and is bent inwardly beyond said sheath flanges to terminate in angled flanges 55, 55 which form anchors within the body of the insulating material as shown in Figure In this manner the lock bar and its sheath consisting of plates 52 and 54 may be made of mimmum thickness, so that they encroach Q limited amount upon the thickness of the insulating liner in which said sheath is embedded.

In practice, the several metal supporting parts including the lock housing 3|, tubular sheath 38, support plate 4|, and lock bar sheath parts 52 and 54, are all preferably set in position before the insulating liner I1 is molded in the outer casing, so that the fixed metal parts are firmly embedded in said liner to form permanent fixtures therein when the molding is completed. The support plate 4| preferably extends through a cut-away portion of the cover plate flange 55, and is secured as by welding to the inner side of flange 53 of the inner sheath member 52 before the parts are molded in place. The support plate 4| also is provided with a pair of outwardly extending flanges 51, 51 forming anchor members extending into the insulating liner as shown in Figure 3.

Referring now to the latch devices for the individual drawers l8, I8, a strike lever 60 is mounted on each horizontal partition member l5, I5 forming the bottom of a drawer compartment in position to engage an overhead lock strike 9| fixed to the bottom wall 25 of each drawer. Each strike lever is pivotally supported on a horizontally disposed lever shaft 63 having bearing at opposite ends of the upright wings 64, 64 of a supporting bracket 65. Said supporting bracket is mounted on a base plate 66 which is recessed in a pocket 6? formed in the upper face of its respective horizontal partition- I5 adjacent the side wall [4 along which the lock bar 55 and its guide sheath extend, as shown in Figure 2 and 4.

In the preferred form shown the base plate 65 has marginal side flanges 68 and end flanges 69, and the inner side flange 68 is preferably secured as by welding to the outer face of the cover plate 54 of the lock bar guide sheath,

seen in Figure 4.

The strike lever 60 is normally held under tension by a latch spring 70 coiled around the lever shaft 63 with one terminal end engaging thesupport bracket 65 and the other terminal end engaging the under face of said strike lever fixed on the inner end of said lever shaft and having a pin 76 at its outer end extending through a vertical slot '11 in the cover plate 54 and into a transversely extending slot 19 in the lock bar 54. (See Figure 4) With the arrangement just described the latch lever 13 forms a stop against which the strike lever 60 is normally engaged under tension of the latch spring 10 in position to engage the lock strike 6| on the adjacent drawer bottom 25, but said strike lever is free to be depressed against the tension of its spring so when the lock strike is moved along the top of said strike lever in a direction to close the drawer, said strike lever will be depressed until the lock strike passes its inner end, whereupon the strike lever will move upwardly into latching position. drawer is to be unlocked, the lock bar 58 is moved downwardly by releasing the lock 39 on the top stile of the cabinet.

Since said lock is connected by control wire- When the in Figure 2) under tension of the unlockin spring is as. previously described,v all of: the drawers are normallyunloekedexceptine ,the lo'ckso is moved into locking nos (a shown in full lines in Figure 2), in which position the several latches are moved into pOSil tion to lock the drawers automatically whenever they are fully closed.

In the modified form of locking mechanism shown in Figures 5 to 8, the lock is slidablv mounted in its housing 8! disposed in the. side sill of the cabinet, and is connected to the latch mechanism on the interior of the casing, as before, by a flexible wire 83 encased in a. tubular sheath Bit of coiled wire molded in the insulating material liner ll of the side wail of the cabinet. The drawer 85 is provided with a. look strike 8.6. on the adjacent side wall thereof, instead of on the bottom of the drawer as in the form pro.- viously' described in connection with Figures 1 to 4 inclusive.

The inner end of the flexible control, wire;

is secured to a pivoted pin 81 on one end of a rocking lever 88, fixed on the upper end of the upright shaft 89. The opposite end of the rock ing lever 88' has a pinfiil engaged in the forked end 90 of a latch lever 9:5 Said latch lever is pivoted intermediate its ends on a pin Q2 fixed on a support bracket 593 projecting inwardly from the side wall of the cabinet. A strike lever as is also pivotally mounted on the pivot pin 92 adjacent the latch lever, and is provid d: ith spr n means normally urging it inwardly toward the drawer 35-, said spring means herein consisting of a spring 95 coiled around the pivot pin $2, with its free end engaging the outeredge of said strike lever.

1 The strike lever 94 has an upwardly projecting lug adapted to be engaged by the free end of the latch lever iii whenthe latter is swung outwardly away from the drawer so as to move the strike lever out of the pathof the lock strike 86 on the side of said drawer.

The several parts of the latch mechanism. above described are mounted on a support plate 99 which is fixed to the inner face of the insulating liner I1 and also forms a support for an inwardly extending guide rail I00 adapted to be engaged by supporting rollers (not shown) forming part of the usual drawer extension slide. A portion of the insulating liner I1 is cut away to form a shallow recess it! in the insulating material, to provide the necessary clearance for movement of the rocking lever 88 and the latch lever 9|. The support plate 99 has an outwardly turned flange IE2 along .its upper margin. A bearing plate 33 is fixed to the top of said bearing plate flange 102 and has the upper end of the control shaft 89 journalled therein. The bracket 93 which has the latch lever 9| and strike lever 94 pivoted thereon, is also fixed to the support plate 99 as by welding to the rear face of the latter.

Spring means are provided for normally holding the rocking lever 88 in unlockedposition, as herein shown, said means consisting of a spring Hi l connecting the end of lever 88 to a bracket H35 suitably fixed to the side wall, so as to urge said lever into position to unlock the latch mechanism.

The upright control rod 89 extends downwardly in a relatively small groove formed along the insulating material as indicated at H36 in Figure 8. This control rod extends downwardly to connect with one or more latch devices simiincluding integrally molded insulating 6 or to that: whi hhas b en: her in-described toropcrat' the top drawer $5., so that. all oi the drawers of the: cabinet are controlled simnltane l-y y the. sin le lock 89:.

Thus, the. several strike lever 54 the cabin are normal y h ld inunlocls posi ion; by th latch levers; ti until: the lock 36 s m ed i wardly to looking: position against the tension of spring Hi l. This movement causes the latch lever 9% to swing inwardly and ermit the strike lever 9.4 to move into the path: of movement of the. drawer str ke 8.6.,

It will be understood that thev s por pl as and the lock. housing 8i together with the control rod sheath 8.4. are initially mo d d in the insulating liner ll at the time the latteris formed in the casing, and the latch mechanism and lock, together with the flexible control wire 8.3 are later assembled in their proper operating positions as. shown in. the. several-figures,

' Although I have, shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it be und r stood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that a various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the, appended claim I claim:

1. A fire-resisting cabinet. having exterior walls defining an interior compartment with a framedopening, an insulated closure for said openin av latch device for said closure recessed in the molded insulation on the interior of one, of s id walls and including a portion exposed to the in-v terior of said compartment and accessible. through said framed opening for connection to, a latch locking means, and locking means for said latch device including a lock member ref cessed in the molded insulation of one of said walls and accessible from the outside of the latter, a tubular sheath permanently embedded in the molded insulation of the latter wall and extending from said lock member toward said latch device, theinner end of said sheath termihating in proximity to said exposed portion of said latch device, and a flexible wire operatively connecting said lock member to said latch device and slidably encased in said flexible wire including an end portion projecting from the inner end of said sheath and accessible through said framed opening for operative connection to the exposed portion of said latch device.

2. A fire-resisting cabinet having exterior walls including integrally molded insulating material defining an interior compartment with a framed opening, an insulated closure for said opening, a latch device for said closure recessed in the molded insulation on the interior of one of said walls and including a portion exposed to the interior of said compartment and accessible through said framed opening for connection to a latch locking means, and. locking means for said latch device including a lock member recessed in the molded insulation of one of said walls and accessible from the outside of the latter, a tubular sheath permanently embedded in the molded insulation of the latter wall and extending in an inwardly curved path from said lock member toward said latch device, the inner end of said sheath projecting into said compartment at a point accessible through said framed opening and terminating in proximity to the exposed portion of said latch device, and a flexible Wire operatively connecting said lock member to said latch device and slidably encased in said tubular sheath, said flexible wire including an end portion projecting from the inner end of said sheath for operative connection to the exposed portion of said latch device, said tubular sheath and wire forming the sole metallic connection between said lock member and said latch device for limited conduction of heat through the exterior walls of the cabinet.

3. A fire-resisting cabinet having exterior walls and an interior partition, each including integrally molded insulating material and jointly defining a plurality of individual interior compartments with framed openings, insulating closures for each of said compartments, a latch device for each of said closures recessed in the molded insulating material defining the interior compartments, and locking means for said latch devices including a common control rod recessed along the interior surface of one of said exterior walls and passing through the interior partition defining said compartments, said control rod terminating in a portion exposed to the interior of. one of said compartments and accessible through one of said framed openings, a lock member recessed in the molded insulation of one of said walls and accessible from the outside of the cabinet, a tubular sheath permanently embedded in the molded insulation of the latter wall and extending in an inwardly curved path from said lock member toward the exposed portion of said control rod, the inner end of the sheath projecting into said one compartment at a point accessible through said one framed opening and terminating in proximity to the exposed portion of said control rod, and means operatively connecting said lock member to said control rod including a flexible wire slidably encased in said tubular sheath, said flexible wire including an end portion projecting from the inner end of said sheath for operative connection to the exposed portion of the control rod, said tubular sheath and wire 8 forming the sole metallic connection between said lock member and said latch device for limited conduction of heat through said last-named wall. 1 4. A fire-resisting cabinet having exterior walls and a plurality of interior partitions, each including integrally molded insulating material and jointly defining a plurality of individual interior compartments with framed openings, insulating closures for each of said compartments, latch devices for said closures recessed in and supported by said interior partitions, and locking means for said latch devices including a common control rod recessed along the interior surface of one of said exterior walls and passing through the interior partitions defining said compartments, a lock member recessed in the molded insulation of one of said walls and accessible from the outside of the cabinet, a tubular sheath permanently embedded in the molded insulation of the latter wall and extending in an inwardly curved path from said lock member to said control rod, and means operatively connecting said lock member to said control rod including a flexible wire slidably encased in said tubular sheath, said tubular sheath and wire forming the sole metallic connection between said lock member and the interior of said cabinet through said last mentioned wall for limited conduction of heat therethrough.

CARL W. WIKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 681,155 Tobey Aug. 20, 1901 1,000,268 Jadronja Aug. 8, 1911 1,109,106 Bullock Sept. 1, 1914 1,904,912 Wolters Apr. 18, 1933 2,116,370? Watkins May 3, 1938 2,333,511 Bates et al Nov. 2, 1943 

